Guitar-banjo



UNITED STATES PATENT OiEEIcEO LEVI BROWN, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

GUITAR-BANJO.

LSpcciication forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,444, dated October 17, 1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEVI BROWN, of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore and State ot' Maryland, have invented a certain new and Improved Guitar-Banjo, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being` had to the accompanying drawings, makin g a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of myimproved banjo, the plane ot' section being indicated bythe line c x, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line y y, Fig. 1.

My invention relates to a new and improved guitar-banjo, which is so constructed as to produce with a smaller drum a tone superior to that ot` the iinest guitar, and may be used as such. It may also be used as a banjo, without the annoyance of a sheep-skin or calf-skin head, which invariably slackens in damp weather and injures the tone ot' the instrument to a very great extent.

My improved guitar-banjo is a beautiful and convenient instrument, and is not objectionable on accountot' its extremelength and great weight or the danger ot' tearing and soiling dresses bythe numerous iron or brass screws, brackets, bands, ctc., which are attached to the outside of the drum for the purpose ot' holding the skin on. This is a diticulty to which I have given much of my attention in order to overcome itwithout injury to the tone. I have Succeedcd,notonly withoutinjuringit,butwith considerable improvement in the tone, and, owing to the particular construction of the improved guitar-banjo, it can be tuned (either as a guitar or a banjo) to concert pitch.

To enable one skilled inthe art to construct and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

In the accompanying drawings it will be seen that the hoopA is twelve inches in diameter and has a covering or face, B, made' ot' very thin wood, which is strengthened by means of two bars, C Cf, placed on the inside, the bars running across the grain of the face-board, the center ot' one bar being placed two and n one-halt' inches from the back edge, and the other bar at the same distance from the opposite or front edge of the face-board. This leaves a space of about seven inches between the two bars. In making the t'aceboard fast to the hoop each end ot' the bars on the inside ofthe face-board is neatly set in the hoop in such a manner as to take a strong hold without projecting through to the outside of the hoop, thus forming acomplete sounding-board. In order to add to the sweetness ot' the tone, a very thin back board, I), is made fast to the bottom of the hoop. As it is necessary that this back board should be very thin, and yet strong', it is composed of two veneers glued together, the grain oi' one piece running across the other, and is formed slightly oval by means ofthe bar E, which is made somewhat similar to those on the inside ot thc sounding-board, and made slightly oval ou one side, the oval side ot' the bar being glued to theinside of the back board, which, by being thus shaped, is not only strengthened, but throws the sound forward, which escapes through openings F in the side ot' the hoop, they being made sufficiently large and numerous to allow the full tone ofthe instrument to pass through. The above constitutes the drum ot' theinstrument.

In the back part ot' the drum is a pin, G, placed for the purpose ot' holding the apronstring. To prevent this string` from cut-ting into the back edge of the sounding-board, a small nut, H, is inserted. The bridge I is three inches in length and iive-eighths of al1 inch high, having small notches in the top edge, at equal distances apart, which serve to keep the strings in their proper places, and one notch, J, on the outside ofthe left foot, near the bottom, which is intended to hold the thumbstring out ofthe way while the instrument is being used as a guitar. This bridge is placed precisely on the center ot' the sounding-board and supports the strings at a distance ot` about twenty-four and one-half inches from the nut, near tne end ofthe staff K. Thus it receives a sufticient pressure against the soundingboard to cause a much louder tone than that of any guitar.

Having described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The construction ot' the head or drum otl th instrument, as described and represented, and consisting of the perfor-ated rim or hoop, imperforated sounding-board, and bulging back, constructed substantially as described.

To the above specitcation ot' my improved guitar-banjo I have signed my name this 7th day of September, 1865.

LEVI BROWN. Witnesses:

EDWARD H. KNIGHT, GI-IAs. D. SMITH. 

